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Barbara Buress, who was part of a protest against the police shooting of Martavious Banks, is arrested along Elvis Presley Boulevard on Sept. 19. Protesters shut down traffic along Elvis Presley near the site of the shooting after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - Officers watch as Kendra Perry, left, holds a sign along Airways Blvd. near the Memphis Police Department's Airways Station while protesting the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. The protests came after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - People gathered along Airways Blvd. near the Memphis Police Department's Airways Station to protest the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. The protests came after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - People gathered along Airways Blvd. near the Memphis Police Department's Airways Station to protest the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. The protests came after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - Mario Denton yells through a megaphone along Airways Blvd. near the Memphis Police Department's Airways Station while protesting the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. The protests came after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - Memphis activist Keedran Franklin talks with a Memphis police officer along Airways Blvd. near the Memphis Police Department's Airways Station while protesting the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. The protests came after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - Britney Thornton, left, and Karen Spencer-McGee are seen along Airways Blvd. near the Memphis Police Department's Airways Station while protesting the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. The protests came after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - Memphis police officers watch people near the Memphis Police Department's Airways Station as they protested the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. The protests came after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - A knot of police tape is seen near where Martavious Banks was shot by Memphis police officers along Gill Avenue. Protestors had shut down traffic along Elvis Presley near the site of the shooting after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - Protesters sit and block traffic on Elvis Presley Blvd. while protesting the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. Protesters had shut down traffic along Elvis Presley near the site of the shooting after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal

Memphis police officers arrest people along Elvis Presley Blvd. after protesters had shut down traffic along Elvis Presley Boulevard near the site of the police shooting of Martavious Banks on Sept. 19. The protests followed news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - Barbara Buress runs from Memphis police officers along Elvis Presley Blvd. as police broke up a protest that had shut down traffic near the site of the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. The protests came after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - Barbara Buress is arrested by Memphis police officers along Elvis Presley Blvd. as police break up a protest that had shut down traffic near the site of the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. The protests came after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

September 19 2018 - Memphis police officers are seen along Elvis Presley Blvd. after several people were arrested during a protest that blocked traffic near the site of the officer-involved shooting of Martavious Banks. The protests came after news that officers involved in the shooting of Banks may have improperly switched off their dashboard or body cameras, or didn't turn them on. Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal,

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Michael Whaley (left) and Tami Sawyer wait to be sworn in as Shelby County Commissioners during a ceremony on Aug. 27 at the Cannon Center of the Performing Arts in Memphis.(Photo11: Mark Weber, The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

On Sept. 17, Tami Sawyer and other activists joined the family of Martavious Banks at the scene where he was critically wounded by police officers.

Two days later, she and other county commissioners announced a resolution that would require the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Memphis Police Department to request involvement by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in all police shootings that resulted in critical injury — not just fatalities.

Sawyer’s appointment as head of the commission’s committee on law enforcement, corrections and courts stands out since she is a long-time activist in Memphis. Mark Billingsley, who is vice chair of the commission, is also vice chair of the committee.

Chairman Van Turner said he appointed Sawyer to lead the committee because she had expressed an interest and because he knew of her activism related to law enforcement.

The TBI resolution is one example of Sawyer having a foot in the activist community and a foot in the commission, Turner said.

“It helped to respond to the cries of the community for something to be done,” Turner said. “She was there at the scene, but she was also as policymaker able to address an immediate concern.”

The resolution passed out of the law enforcement committee meeting Wednesday with a favorable recommendation.

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Activist-turned-county-commissioner Tami Sawyer addresses a crowd in Memphis during a protest on Aug. 12, 2017, showing support for those who were injured or lost their lives in Charlottesville, Va.(Photo11: Yalonda M. James / The Commercial Appeal)

Several commissioners voiced concerns about whether the TBI has the resources to respond to such shootings. Sawyer said she would ask the TBI to come to the next commission meeting to address those concerns.

Sawyer said she wanted to lead the committee during her first year on the commission since issues with Department of Justice oversight of Shelby County Juvenile Court must be dealt with immediately.

She wanted to ensure that “even if monitoring went away, our commitment to equity and equality in the jails didn’t go away,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer has considered herself an activist since the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012, when she began organizing protests around the Black Lives Matter Movement.

“I felt like Memphis being the city where Dr. King was killed owed a debt to the movement to be involved — and to our people,” she said.

Sawyer is known particularly for leading the #TakeEmDown901 movement to remove Memphis’ Confederate statues. Sawyer was also among those “friended” on Facebook by the “Bob Smith” Facebook account, used by Memphis Police to monitor activists.

Counterprotesters are seen observing the Confederate 901 group near Health Sciences Park on September 21.(Photo11: Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal, )

Sawyer is quick to say that she is not anti-law enforcement. After becoming head of the committee, she reached out to the sheriff’s department to let them know that she wasn’t interested in cleaning house or getting into the “minutiae,” she said.

Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner was not available to comment about Sawyer Monday.

Her highest concerns involve costs to inmates' families, a high jail population and continuing Department of Justice oversight of juvenile court, Sawyer said.

“We should all be on the same page with most of that,” she said. “None of it's really revolutionary at the end of the day.”

Memphis has a history of shutting activists out of decision making, said Brad Watkins, executive director of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center.

“Aside from the fact that Commissioner Sawyer is very sincere and been on the record on these issues, she can actually speak to the broader community and pull together a comprehensive alliance,” Watkins said.

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Tami Sawyer (right) hugs Judge Loyce Lambert Ryan after being sworn in as a Shelby county commissioner during a ceremony on Aug. 27 in Memphis.(Photo11: Mark Weber, The Commercial Appeal)

Sawyer said she has received some criticism for being an activist who is also a commissioner, including when she raised money to bail out people who were arrested protesting the shooting of Banks.

She is being more cautious about what she posts online and where she goes, Sawyer said, but wants people to know she has no plans to stop advocating.

“I will never be disconnected from social justice work and the movement,” Sawyer said. “My people, the movement, people who believe in justice and equity of all races, genders, backgrounds, sexualities, religions, creeds, voted me into office because of my belief in equality and equity.”